At the end of about two hours Obed announced his intentions at
present. He had come first and more especially to see Messrs. Tilton
and Browne, with a hope that he might be able to trace the affair
back far enough to reach Hilda Lorton; and secondly, to set the
London police to work.
"Will you make any stay?" asked Lord Chetwynde.
"No, not more than I can help. I can find out soon whether my designs
are practicable or not. If they can not be immediately followed out,
I will leave it to the police, who can do far better than me, and go
back to Naples. Miss Lorton is better there, and I feel like
traveling about Italy till she has recovered. I see that the country
is better for her than all the doctors and medicines in the world. A
sail round Naples Bay may rouse her from the deepest melancholy. She
has set her heart on visiting Rome and Florence. So I must go back to
my little girl, you see."
"Those names," said Lord Chetwynde, calmly, and without exhibiting
any signs of the emotion which the allusion to that "little girl"
caused in his heart--"those names ought certainly to be
traceable--'Hilda Lorton,' 'Ella Lorton.' The names are neither
vulgar nor common. A properly organized effort ought to result in
some discovery. 'Hilda Lorton,' 'Ella Lorton,'" he repeated,
"'Hilda,' 'Ella'--not very common names--' Hilda,' 'Ella.'"
He repeated these names thus over and over, but the names gave no
hint to the speaker of the dark, deep mystery which lay beneath.
As for Obed, he knew that Hilda was not _Hilda Lorton_, and that a
search after any one by that name would be useless. Zillah had told
him that she was not her sister. At length the two friends separated,
Lord Chetwynde saying that he would remain in London till the
following day, and call on Obed at his hotel that evening to learn
the result of his labors. With this each went about his own business;
but into the mind of Lord Chetwynde there came a fresh anxiety, which
made him have vague desires of flying away forever--off to India, to
Australia--any where from the power of his overmastering, his
hopeless love. And amidst all this there came a deep longing to go to
Italy--to Naples, to give up every thing--to go back with Obed Chute.
It needed all the strength of his nature to resist this impulse, and
even when it was overcome it was only for a time. His business that
day was neglected, and he waited impatiently for the evening.
Evening came at last, and Lord Chetwynde went to Obed's hotel. He
found his friend there, looking somewhat dejected.
"I suppose you have accomplished nothing," he said. "I see it in your
face."
"You're about right," said Obed. "I'm going back to Naples
to-morrow."
"You've failed utterly, then?"
"Yes, in all that I hoped. But still I have done what I could to put
things on the right track."
"What have you done?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account